Justice and Peace•Pope Leo XIV

Pope calls for day of fasting and prayer on August 22: this is what he said and this is why

The decision resonates with the Pope’s recent reflections in Castel Gandolfo, where he spoke candidly about the war in Ukraine. He expressed hope that an end to the crisis might be found, while cautioning that it will require both perseverance in diplomacy and constancy in prayer.

Aug 20, 2025 22:16

ZENIT Staff

General Audience•Pope Leo XIV

What should I do if I have been betrayed? The Pope’s beautiful catechesis based on Judas and a gesture by Jesus

Pope’s general audience, August 20, 2025, on how every betrayal can become an opportunity for salvation.

Aug 20, 2025 22:13

ZENIT Staff

Bioethics

China: Laboratory claims to be on the verge of launching robots with uteruses to give birth to babies

Dr. Zhang Qifeng, founder of Kaiwa Technology, has described the project as “mature” and commercially ready, with prototypes expected to sell for around US$14,000 in the coming year

Aug 20, 2025 22:06

ZENIT Staff

Justice and Peace•Religious Freedom

Little Sisters of the Poor initiate process to bring ruling against them by progressive judge to Supreme Court

The ruling, issued on August 13 by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sided with the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. At issue was whether the Trump administration had properly followed federal procedure when granting broad religious and moral exemptions from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage mandate

Aug 20, 2025 21:59

ZENIT Staff

Holy Land•Justice and Peace•Persecuted Christians

Israeli government of Jerusalem municipality freezes bank accounts of Greek Orthodox Church

At the heart of the confrontation lies “Arnona,” Jerusalem’s property tax. For generations, churches had been shielded from such levies, a status quo respected by Ottoman, British, Jordanian, and Israeli authorities

Aug 20, 2025 21:57

ZENIT Staff

Persecuted Christians

Tehran “admits” arrest of over 50 Christians since war with Israel

Of these, only 11 have been released on bail. The others remain in prison and join the more than 60 already in jail before the conflict for reasons of faith. According to the Ministry of Intelligence, they are “Mossad mercenaries” trained abroad by churches in the United States and Israel. Article 18: their “crime” was to have participated “in a gathering” of faithful “in a neighbouring country”.

Aug 20, 2025 21:54

ZENIT Staff

Persecuted Christians•Religious Freedom

A Bishop Denounces The Persecution of Catholics in Russian-Occupied Ukraine

Russia’s actions in Ukraine increasingly resemble the Soviet Communist dictatorship’s practices against religious freedom. Furthermore, Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship has as allies some of the regimes that most fiercely persecute Christians in the world, such as the Islamist dictatorship of Iran and the Communist dictatorships of China, Cuba, and North Korea.

Aug 19, 2025 21:02

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV•Virgin Mary

Pope Leo XIV visits the Virgin Mary. Where, when, and how? This is how the encounter unfolded

Father Adam Dźwigoń, one of the Polish Resurrectionist priests entrusted with the sanctuary, recalled the atmosphere of the visit as one of quiet intensity. “We awaited him with serenity, even surprising ourselves,” he said, noting how the Pope had sought continuity with his predecessors

Aug 19, 2025 20:54

ZENIT Staff

Vatican Diplomacy

Israeli ambassador to the Holy See accuses Vatican newspaper of anti-Semitism

The incident stems from a column published on August 7 by Jesuit theologian David Neuhaus, a German-Israeli scholar born in South Africa to Jewish parents and a former vicar for Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Jerusalem

Aug 19, 2025 20:52

ZENIT Staff

Good News

One amputee, another with brain damage, and another malnourished: Vatican welcomes three children affected by the war in Gaza

With their arrival, the number of Gazan children treated at Bambino Gesù since the war’s outbreak in October 2023 has risen to twenty. Their ailments tell a story that statistics alone cannot

Aug 19, 2025 20:48

ZENIT Staff

Pope Leo XIV

How to Face Difficulties? Pope Leo Responds

The monthly magazine, “Piazza San Pietro”, also includes this month a special article on the Meeting of Fraternity, scheduled for September 12 and 13 in Rome.

Aug 18, 2025 20:54

ZENIT Staff

Angelus•Pope Leo XIV

What does it mean to be a “sign of contradiction”? Pope Leo XIV explains it

Address on the occasion of the Angelus prayer on Sunday, August 17, 2025

Aug 17, 2025 23:05

ZENIT Staff